1. Field of the Present Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of wire management systems for electrical component racks, and more particularly to the field of multi-positional mounting brackets for electrical component racks utilizing redeployable retention brackets or rings for securely retaining wires or cables therein.
2. Background Art
As is well known, electrical component racks are heavily utilized to store computer equipment and other electrical equipment of a variety of types. The various components are mounted on or in such racks in close proximity to one another and connected together by cables, wires, or the like, collectively referred to herein as xe2x80x9cwires.xe2x80x9d
Apparatuses for routing wires within and through the electrical component racks are likewise well known. In particular, a number of such apparatuses have utilized a plurality of rings or similar retention brackets attached to an elongated mounting bracket which may installed in a desired location in a given rack. Wires may then be held in place along the mounting bracket by routing them through the interiors of the respective rings or retention brackets. In order to facilitate simple insertion and removal of wires from the respective rings, a gap commonly exists in the body of each ring, thus connecting the interior of the respective ring or retention bracket to its exterior. Unfortunately, not only does the gap permit wires to be inserted into the ring or retention bracket interior, but it permits wires to escape as well. Thus, retention brackets making use only of fingerlike projections extending across the mounting bracket have large gaps which provide only minimal retention properties in the area of the gap.
One solution to this problem is to use D-shaped rings which have a very narrow gap at one corner of the xe2x80x9cDxe2x80x9d. However, many prior art D-rings are rigid structures having fixed gaps which permit only a single wire having a cross-section smaller than the gap to be inserted into the interior at a time, thus limiting the size of wire which may be routed through the D-ring and requiring bundles of wires to be separated in order to install them within the interior of the D-ring. Other prior art D-rings are more flexible and may be bent outward by hand, thus widening the gap, to accommodate the insertion of wires. Unfortunately, the weight or other forces placed on the rings by the wires is usually directed in the same outward direction, and at the same point on the rings, as the force placed on the rings manually during wire insertion. The forces placed on the rings by the wires are frequently enough to bend the rings by themselves, thus widening the gap enough to allow the wires to escape. Thus, a need exists for a ring which is rigid enough to withstand the forces placed on it by the wires it surrounds but which is capable of providing a gap large enough to facilitate the insertion of bundles of wires.
Retention brackets or rings which may be moved from one location to another along a mounting bracket, or the structure of an electrical component rack itself, are also well known in the art. Prior art mounting brackets frequently include a plurality of retention bracket apertures, or sets of apertures, arranged along the length of a planar surface in the mounting bracket, and rings or retention brackets may be installed in any or all of the aperture sets as desired by the installer. This allows a certain amount of flexibility in choosing the locations of the associated retention brackets or rings. However, prior art apparatuses typically limit the placement of retention brackets to a single row of apertures along a single surface, which effectively allows retention brackets attached thereto to extend only in a single direction from the mounting bracket. Likewise, prior art mounting brackets typically have only a single side which may be mounted to an electrical component rack. Unfortunately, although prior art mounting brackets may be attachable in either a generally horizontal or vertical orientation, they may only be attached such with their retention bracket apertures facing a single direction relative to the structure of the electrical component rack. Thus, prior art mounting brackets provide an installer with no flexibility in positioning or orienting the mounting brackets in general, or the retention brackets in particular, relative to the electrical component rack.
Although it is well known for retention brackets or rings to be deployable in a plurality of locations along a mounting bracket, prior art retention brackets must commonly be held in place on the mounting bracket while a nut is threaded onto a screw or some similar operation is carried out to secure the retention bracket to the mounting bracket. Such a manual operation necessitates the use of two hands to complete the task: one hand to hold the retention bracket steady and a second hand to thread the nut or the like onto a screw. Unfortunately, an installer must frequently also support a handful of wires while at the same time fastening a retention bracket in a particular location, which becomes quite difficult when two hands are simultaneously needed to attach a retention bracket. In addition, in order to provide the structural strength necessary to hold the retention bracket securely in place on the mounting bracket, a plurality of screws are frequently utilized to provide support at more than one point on the retention bracket. In addition to requiring additional coordination by the installer, each additional screw which is installed requires an additional amount of installation time. Thus, a need exists for a retention bracket which may be installed quickly and easily with only a single hand.
Briefly summarized, the present invention relates to a wire management system for an electrical component rack which utilizes one or more retention brackets mounted on a multi-positional mounting bracket in order to securely retain wires or cables therein. Broadly defined, the wire management system according to one aspect of the present invention includes: a mounting bracket having first and second planar members, each of which includes a set of retention bracket mounting features, wherein each set of retention bracket mounting features includes at least one mounting feature for connecting the respective planar member to a retention bracket; and at least one retention bracket removeably attached to the first mounting bracket planar member using the first set of retention bracket mounting features, wherein at least one retention bracket is adaptable to be selectively removed and reconnected to the second mounting bracket planar member using the second set of retention bracket mounting features. In features of this rack, the first set of retention bracket features is disposed adjacent to the second set of retention bracket features along the length of the mounting bracket; the first set of retention bracket features is symmetrically disposed relative to the second set of retention bracket features; the first and second planar members each further include a set of attachment features for attaching the mounting bracket to an electrical component rack; at least one retention bracket mounting feature is a member of both the first set of retention bracket mounting features and the second set of retention bracket mounting features; and the retention bracket mounting features include at least one slot.
In a second aspect of the present invention, a wire management system includes: a mounting bracket having at least one planar member, which includes a slot; and a wire retention bracket connected to the mounting bracket, the retention bracket having a tab inserted into the slot in the mounting bracket.
In features of the second aspect, the slot is disposed along one side of the planar member; the planar member is a first planar member and wherein the mounting bracket further includes a second planar member intersecting the first planar member along one side of the first planar member; and the planar member further includes a mounting aperture disposed adjacent the slot.
In a third aspect of the present invention, a bifurcated O-ring for a wire management system is provided which includes: a base portion; a first shaft extending from the base portion; a second shaft extending from the base portion; a first tip extending from the first shaft; and a second tip extending from the second shaft generally toward the first tip, wherein the base portion, first shaft, second shaft, first tip and second tip collectively defining an interior for routing wires therethrough.
In features of the third aspect, a gap is formed between the first and second tips; and at least a portion of at least one of the tips is angled.
In a fourth aspect of the present invention, a wire management system includes: a mounting bracket; and an O-ring, the O-ring including a base portion attached to the mounting bracket and a pair of side members extending from the base portion and having respective opposed distal ends disposed substantially adjacent each other, wherein the side members and base portion collectively define an interior.
The present invention also includes a method of installing a wire in a wire management system having at least one retention bracket which includes first and second members extending from a base portion, the first member having a tip extending from a distal end thereof, the tip being separated from the second member at a separation point, and the base portion, first member and second member collectively defining an interior, wherein the method includes the steps of: temporarily applying pressure to the tip, in a direction orthogonal to both the tip and the first member, sufficient to increase the separation between the tip and the second member; inserting a wire through the increased separation and into the interior; and removing the pressure from the tip, thereby allowing the retention bracket to return to its original position.
In features of this method, the first member extends from the base portion in a first direction, and the step of temporarily applying pressure including the step of rotating the tip about an axis defined by the direction of extension of the first member; the tip is a first tip, the second member of the retention bracket further has a second tip extending from a distal end thereof toward the first tip, and the method further includes the steps of temporarily applying pressure to the second tip, in a direction orthogonal to both the second tip and the second member, sufficient to increase the separation between the second tip and the first tip, and removing the pressure from the second tip, thereby allowing the retention bracket to return to its original position.
In still another aspect of the present invention, a wire management system includes: a mounting bracket which includes first and second planar members, wherein a slot is disposed at the intersection of the planar members; and a plurality of bifurcated O-rings removeably mounted on the first mounting bracket planar member, each O-ring including a base portion having a tab inserted into the mounting bracket slot, and each O-ring further including a pair of side members extending from the base portion and having respective opposed distal ends disposed substantially adjacent each other, wherein the side members and base portion collectively define an interior.